Toki-Pou-Tangata
| Toki-Pou-Tangata | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Information | |
| Weapon type: | Ax, adze |
| Designations: | Toki, Toki Hohoupu, Maori Fighting Adze |
| Use: | Weapon, traditional weapon, ceremonial weapon, professional weapon, tool |
| Working time: | til today |
| Region of origin / author: |
New Zealand , Maori |
| Distribution: | New Zealand |
| Handle: | Wood, metal |
| Particularities: | The blades are made of jade , later (after colonization ) made of metal. |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Toki or Toki Pou-Tangata , Toki Hohoupu (or Maori Fighting Adze ) is an ax used by the native people of New Zealand , the Maori . (from Maori: Toki = Adze)
history
The Toki or Toki Pou-Tangata are actually two different axes. The toki is a weapon of war and a woodworking tool. The Toki Pou-Tangata is a ceremonial ax that is only reserved for the chiefs (Ariki) of the Maori tribes as a symbol of their standing. It is an important national and traditional symbol of the Maori.
description
The Toki have a short, round stem with a carved head at the top. This head serves as a holder for a blade made of metal or traditionally made of jade (greenstone). The blade is inserted in a groove and additionally fastened with leather or plant fibers ( coconut or sisal ). The normal toki used as weapons of war are simple and made with few carvings. The Toki Pou-Tangata , which serve ceremonial and traditional purposes, are intricately carved. The Toki were used to give the death blow to an enemy warrior wounded by blows with the Maori clubsticks.
See also
literature
- Grahame Clark: Symbols of Excellence: Precious Materials as Expressions of Status. Cambridge University Press, 1986, ISBN 978-0-521-30264-7
- Makereti Papakura : The Old-Time Maori. READ BOOKS, 2008, ISBN 978-1-4437-3423-3
- DR Simmons: Iconography of New Zealand Maori religion Iconography of Religions. Section II, Polynesia; Fasc. 1 Volume 1 of Columbia Studies in the Classical Tradition. Brill, 1986, ISBN 978-90-04-07588-7
- George Cameron Stone , Donald J. LaRocca: A Glossary of the Construction, Decoration and Use of Arms and Armor: in All Countries and in All Times. Courier Dover Publications, 1999, ISBN 978-0-486-40726-5
